Apparatus for opening and closing doors pivotally attached to a railway car

ABSTRACT

In conjunction with a railway car having doors on either side which pivot downward to an open position and upward to a closed position, arm means raisable and lowerable and movable toward and away from the car to cooperate with slots in each door to raise and lower that door. Such arm means may enter the slots at openings at the tops and bottoms thereof but cannot be removed from the slots when in between these openings. Means are included to ensure that the arm means, after raising a door, cannot be removed from the bottom openings of the slots unless that door is locked in its closed position.

United States Patent Inventors Appl. No. Filed Patented William M. Jaekle l8 Tarry Ave., Orinda, Calif. 94563;

- Paul V. Garin, 1836 Lake St., San

APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO A RAILWAY CAR 14 Claims, 19 Drawing Figs.

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Field of Search 2l4/38,4l,

OTHER REFERENCES Southern Pacific Bulletin 7-69 pgs. l 3 Copy in /368 Primary Examiner-Robert G. Sheridan Attorney--Mellin, Moore and Wissenberger ABSTRACT: In conjunction with a railway car having doors on either side which pivot downward to an open position and upward to a closed position, arm means raisable and lowerable and movable toward and away from the car to cooperate with slots in each door to raise and lower that door. Such arm means may enter the slots at openings at the tops and bottoms thereof but cannot be removed from the slots when in between these openings. Means are included to ensure that the arm means, after raising a door, cannot be removed from the bottom openings of the slots unless that door is locked in its closed position.

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INVENTORY 44 ME \fi'fiifi F lG I9 WILLIAM E. THOMFORD WALLACE M. GREB NICHOLAS N. UDALOFF STEPHEN H. PEERY, J3.

APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS PIVOTALLY ATTAEHED TO A RAILWAY CAR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally, it has been sometimes found to be advantageous to provide railway cars with doors which pivot about their bottom edges downwardly to open and upwardly to close. Such doors may, as one advantage, be pivoted downward to a point where their top edges are adjacent the ground, making loading of the car relatively easy. Such doors may, as another advantage, comprise substantially the complete sides of the cars, providing an extremely large open area into which the load may be placed.

The raising and lowering of these doors is a substantial problem in itself, in that they are generally quite large and heavy, yet must be handled in a completely controlled, safe manner. If the doors are to be used as load-carrying members themselves, the problem becomes even greater because the raising and lowering of the weights of the loads (which may be quite substantial), in addition to the weights of the doors, must be safely controlled also.

Such safe control not only calls for proper raising and lowering of the doors, loaded or unloaded, but with advantage should include means for ensuring that complete control over the doors is maintained until they are properly locked closed.

It is an object of the invention to provide apparatus which is capable of properly and safely controlling the raising and lowering of doors of a railway car which are pivotable about their lowering edges, whether those doors bear loads or not.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide apparatus which, while fulfilling the above object, includes means for ensuring that such safe control over the doors is maintained until they are properly locked closed.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide apparatus which, while fulfilling the above object, is simple, inexpensive, and convenient for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Broadly stated, the invention is in conjunction with a car having a door pivotal upwardly and downwardly about an axis adjacent its bottom edge parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car. Such invention comprises a slot formed in the outer surface of the door generally perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the door, and means positionable in the slot to apply force therein to the outer surface of the door, such means comprising an arm the end of which is generally T-shaped, the slot being generally T-shaped in cross section, the outer surface of the door defining an opening adjacent the bottom end of the slot to allow the generally T-shaped end into and from the slot, the top end of the slot terminating at the top edge of the door in an opening which allows the generally T-shaped end into and from the slot, the T-shaped end being in sliding relationship with the slot between the ends of the slot but not removable therefrom.

Further included are lock means adapted to lock the door in position relative to the car when the door is pivoted upwardly to a certain position, and block means (i) positionable into the slot so that the T-shaped end may not be removed from the opening adjacent the bottom end of the slot, and (ii) removable from the slot so that the T-shaped end may be removed from the opening adjacent the bottom end of the slot. Means are included for positioning the block means into the slot when the door is in other than said certain position, and removing the block means from the slot when the door is in said certain position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective overall view of a railway car and one embodiment of the means for opening and closing the doors thereof;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of a door of the car of FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a slot of the door of FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the door of the car of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the adapter used in cooperation with the slots of the door;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the adapter of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side elevation of the end of one of the arms of the adapter of FIGS. 6 and 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the end shown in FIG. 8, showing how it cooperates with a slot in the door;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation of lock means associated with the car, in locked position;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation of the lock means of FIG. 10, in locked position;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to that of FIG. 11, in unlocked position;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the locking shaft of the lock means, with the locking shaft retracted;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to that of FIG. 13, with the locking shaft extended;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line I515 of FIG. 14;

FIGS. 16-19 are a series of sequential side elevations of the raising and lowering of the door by such means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Shown generally in FIG. I is a railway car 10 having a roof portion 12, a floor portion 14, and a plurality of doors 16 which comprise the sides 18, 20 of the car 10. Each of these doors 16 is pivotal upwardly and downwardly about an axis adjacent its bottom edge 16A parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car 10. In FIG. 1, these doors 16 are shown as load-supporting members, having automobiles 22 fixed to the insides thereof. The railway car 10, of course, rides on rails 24 on the ground 26.

Construction of one of the doors I6 is shown in FIGS. 2-5. As shown therein, door 16 has formed in its outer surface 168 a pair of slots 28, 30 which are generally perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the door 16. Each slot 28, 30 is of generally T- shaped cross section, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Slots 28, 30 include Ushaped members 21, 23 running therealong, and include overlapping retainer plates 25, 27 and 29, 31 respectively. Openings 32, 34 are defined by the outer surface 16B of the door 16 adjacent the bottom ends of the slots 28, 30, respectively. The top ends of the slots 28, 30 terminate at the top edge 16C of the door 16 in openings 36, 38.

Also shown on the ground 26 is a fork truck 40. Such fork truck 40 is of the usual construction, but instead of utilizing a conventional fork, includes an adapter 42 the construction of which is shown in FIGS. 6-9. Such adapter 42 comprises a fork having a pair of arms 44, 46. The ends 48, 50 of such arms 44, 46 include plate means 49, 51 so as to be generally T- shaped in configuration. Rollers 52, 54 are fixed to the ends 48, 50 respectively. The ends, 48, 50 of the arms 44, 46 may enter into the slots 28, 30 respectively through openings 32, 34, or through openings 36, 38. Once the ends 48, 50 are positioned in the slots 28, 30, because of the T-shaped configurations thereof, the ends 48, 50 cannot be removed from the slots 28, 30 (FIG. 9), and are in slidable relationship therewith. Such ends 48, 50 can only be removed together from openings 32, 34, or together through openings 36, 38. With the ends 43, 50 captured in the slots 28, 30, they may (through back-and-forth movement of truck 40 and lifting and lowering of adapter 42) apply force inward of the door 16 with the rollers 52, 54 forcing into the slots 28, 30 against U-shaped members 21, 23, or apply a pulling force to the door 16, with the plate means 49, 51 pulling against retainer plates 25, 27 and 29, 31 respectively;

The lock means 60 associated with each door 16 are shown in FIGS. 10-15 As shown therein, brackets 62, 64 are fixed to the inner surface of door 16, as are brackets 66, 68, 70. A

block 72 is pivotally fixed to bracket 70 to pivot into and from slot 28, openings being provided in the slot 28 to allow such movement. An elongated linkage bar 74 runs upward from an arm 76 fixed to block 72, through bracket 68, bracket 66, bracket 64, and to angle 78. Angle 78 is movably fixed to bracket 62 by links 80, 82. The extending end 78A of angle 78 has threaded therethrough a bolt 79. A disc 84 is fixed to a shaft portion 86 of linkage bar 74, and a spring 88, under compression, is interposed between disc 84 and bracket 66. The force of such spring 88 tends to move the linkage bar 74 upward (FIG. 12), pivoting block 72 into slot 28. Forcing the linkage bar 74 downward against the force of spring 88 pivots the block 72 from the slot 28, leaving the slot 28 clear.

A trip member 90 is pivotally fixed to bracket 68, and extends into slot 28, an opening being provided in the slot 28 to allow the trip member 90 therein. Such trip member 90, through links 92, 94, 96, interconnects with a bar 97 having a locking shaft 98 thereon, shown in FIGS. 13-15. Locking shaft 98 extends through bracket 62, which is at the top edge 16C of the door 16, and is located in a tube 100 fixed to brackets 62, 64. A disc 102 is fixed to bar 97 intermediate brackets 64, 66, and springs 104, 106, under compression, are interposed between bracket 64 and disc 102, and bracket 66 and disc 102, respectively. The spring force of spring 106 in such condition is chosen as greater than the spring force of spring 104. Such excess force results in the locking shaft being biased in an extended direction (FIG. 14). However, force on the trip member 90 inwardly of the door 16, through links 92, 94, 96, pulls bar 97 downward. Such downward movement of bar 97 retracts locking shaft 98 (FIG. 13), the locking shaft 98 being guided in its extension and retraction by guide pin 107 fixed to door 16 and extending through tube 100 and into a groove 108 defined by the locking shaft 98.

The roof portion 12 of the car has an aperture 110 therein positioned to cooperate with locking shaft 98, and a lever 112 pivotally fixed at its midpoint, and having one end 114 above aperture 110, and the other end 116 extending through an opening 118 in roof portion 12.

(The lock means 60 described have been shown as associated with slot 28. It will be understood that identical lock means are associated with slot 30, and operate in the same manner as now to be described.)

In the operation of the apparatus as thus far described, with the door 16 in closed position, locking shaft 98, under the force of spring 106, extends into aperture 110 of roof portion 12, locking door 16 in place (FIG. 11). In such state, locking shaft 98 moves end 114 of lever 112 upward, pivoting end 116 downward against bolt 79. The force on bolt 79 moves linkage bar 74 against the force of spring 88, holding block 72 upward and out of slot 28.

The truck 40 is driven up to the door 16, and end 48 of arm 44 of the adapter 42 is inserted into opening 32 by raising or lowering the adapter to proper height and moving it forward toward the car 10. The adapter 42 is then raised until the roller 52 on end 48 runs over the trip member 90, pulling locking shaft 98 from aperture 110 through links 92, 94, 96. This unlocks the door 16. The truck 40 is then moved slowly away from the car, pulling the door 16 with it, and the door 16 is lowered until it is adjacent the ground 26, with the adapter 42 being lowered to drop the door 16 slowly. When the door 16 is completely lowered, end 48 may be removed from slot 28 through opening 36 by backing up truck 40. The load in the car 10 may then be removed, including the load fixed to the door 16. It is to be noted that, with no force on bolt 79 (since it no longer is in contact with end 116 of lever 112), the spring force of spring 88 moves linkage bar 74 upward, pivoting block 72 into slot 28.

The raising and locking of door 16 are shown in FIGS. 16-19. As shown therein, end 48 of arm 44 is lowered and moved forward to enter into opening 36 (FIG. 16). Truck 40 slowly moves toward the car 10 and raises adapter 42 so that roller 52 is forced against U-shaped member 21 to raise the door 16. Roller 52 may at the time run over trip member 90,

retracting shaft 98 (FIG. 7). As the door 16 is raised further, the end 48 of arm 44 is slid upward in the slot 28, and moved inward of the car 10 until the door 16 is in its upright position (FIGS. 18 and 19). In such position, force is applied directly onto the door 16 by roller 52 on end 48. In the meantime, locking shaft 98 is forced into its retracted position by roof portion 12 (FIG. 12). Force is applied to the door 16 until locking shaft 98 extends into aperture 110 under the force of spring 106. If the door is properly locked in such position, locking shaft 98 has hit against end 114 of lever I12, pivoting end 116 against bolt 79. The spring constant of spring 88 is chosen so that the force of spring 88 is overcome, forcing linkage bar 74 downward, and pivoting block 72 from slot 28, leaving slot 28 clear. Adapter 42 may be lowered until end 48 may be removed from slot 28 through opening 36 (FIG. 11). However, if locking shaft 98 does not extend into aperture 110, no contact is made thereby with lever 112. The force of spring 88 is not overcome, and block 72 remains in slot 28. In such situation, if the operator of the truck 40 attempts to remove end 48, he will not be able to lower it to opening 32, since the block 72 is in the slot 28 (FIG. 12). In order to remove the end 48, the door 16 must be properly locked in position. To attain such locking, adapter 42 is raised, and more force is applied to the door 16. When the door 16 is properly locked, end 48 can be removed through opening 32, since block 72 is pivoted out of slot 28 by such locking operation.

It will be seen that door 16 cannot be unlocked unless the truck 40 is in proper position to lower the door 16 in a safe and proper manner. Furthennore, the adapter 42 of the truck 40 cannot be removed unless the door, in its closed position, is properly and safely locked.

The block 72 and trip member may with advantage be painted a color different from the rest of the car, so that they may be seen through slot 28 by the operator of the vehicle 40.

It will be seen that the apparatus disclosed herein is capable of properly and safely controlling the raising and lowering of doors of a railway car which are pivotable about their lower edges, This is so whether the doors themselves are load-bearing or not. The lock means disclosed ensure that the means for raising and lowering the doors cannot be withdrawn without the doors being properly locked in place. The unit described, it will also be seen, is quite simple and convenient for use.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In conjunction with a car having a door pivotal upwardly and downwardly about an axis adjacent its bottom edge parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car, the improvement which comprises:

a. a slot formed in the outer surface of the door, generally perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the door, said slot having openings at either end thereof; and

b. means positionable in the slot through one of said openings and slidable in said slot towards the other of said openings to apply force therein to the outer surface of the door to pivot the door upwardly about the pivotal axis of the door, said means being positionable in said slot through said other opening and slidable in said slot towards said one opening to apply supporting force to the outer surface of the door during downward pivotal movement of the door, said means being removable from the slot from either opening but not removable from the slot between said openings.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means positionable in the slot comprise an arm the end of which is generally T-shaped, the slot being generally T-shaped in cross section, the outer surface of the door defining one of said openings adjacent the bottom end of the slot, the top end of the slot tenninating at the top edge of the door in said other opening.

3. In conjunction with a car having a door pivotal upwardly and downwardly about an axis adjacent its bottom edge parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car, the improvement which comprises:

a. first and second slots fonned in the outer surface of the door, generally perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the door, said slots having openings at either end thereof; form means comprising first and second arms the ends of which are positionable in the first and second slots respectively through the openings at either end of said slots and slidable in the slots to the openings at the other end of said slots, said arm ends being removable from the openings at either end of said slots but not removable from said slots between said openings; c. means associated with the form means for raising and lowering the fork means relative to the car, and moving the fork means toward and away from the car, to move said arm ends through said slots in one direction to pivot the door upwardly about the pivotal axis of the door or to move said arm ends through said slots in the other direction to pivot the door downwardly about the pivotal axis of the door. 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the ends of the arms are generally T-shaped in configuration, the slots being generally T-shaped in cross section, the surface of the door defining first and second of said openings adjacent the bottom ends of the first and second slots respectively, the top ends of the first and second slots terminating at the top edges of the door in third and fourth of said openings respectively.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein are included rollers at the ends of the first and second arms.

6. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein are included: a. lock means adapted to lock the door in position relative to the car when the door is pivoted upwardly to a certain position; b. block means i. positionable into the slot so that the T-shaped end may not be removed from the opening adjacent the bottom end of the slot, and

ii. removable from the slot so that the T-shaped end may be removed from the opening adjacent the bottom end of the slot; and

c. means for positioning the block means into the slot when 1 the door is in other than said certain position, and removing the block means from the slot when the door is in said certain position.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein are included trip means positioned in the slot and adapted to be tripped by the end of the arm as said end is slid along in the slot to unlock the door when said door is locked in said certain position.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the lock means comprise a shaft extendable from the top edge of the door and into an aperture associated with the car, when the door is in said certain position, and retractable from that aperture.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the block means comprise a block pivotally fixed relative to the door to pivot into and from the slot, and wherein the means for positioning and removing the block means comprise linkage means interconnecting the block and the shaft such that when the shaft is extended into the aperture, the block is pivoted from the slot through such linkage means, and when the shaft is not extended into said aperture, the block is pivoted into the slot through such linkage means.

10. A railway car comprising:

a. a floor portion;

b. a door pivotally fixed relative to the floor portion and pivotal in a first direction to a closed position and in a second direction to an open position;

c. a slot formed in the outer surface of the door and having openings at either end thereof;

d. means positionable in the slot through either opening and slidable in the slot to apply force in the slot to the outer surface of the door to pivot the door to its closed position, such means being removable from either opening but not removable from the slot;

e. lock means adapted to lock the door in its closed position;

f. block means 1. positionable into the slot so that the means positionable in the slot may not be removed from one of the openings, and

ii. removable from the slot so that the means positionable in the slot may be removed from that one opening; and

g. means for positioning the block means into the slot when the door is in other than its closed position, and removing the block means from the slot when the door is in its closed position.

111. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the door is pivotal about an axis adjacent its bottom edge parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car upwardly to a closed position, and downwardly to an open position, and the slot is generally perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the door.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein are included trip means positioned in the slot and adapted to be tripped by the means positionable in the slot as said means are slid in the slot to unlock the door when the door is locked in its closed position.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the car includes a roof portion, and wherein the lock means comprise a shaft extendable from the top edge of the door and into an aperture associated with the roof portion of the car when the door is in said closed position, and retractable from that aperture.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the block means comprise a block pivotally fixed relative to the door to pivot into and from the slot, and wherein the means for positioning and removing the block means comprise linkage means interconnecting the block and the shaft such that when the shaft is extended into the aperture, the block is pivoted from the slot through such linkage means, and when the shaft is not extended into the apertures, the block is pivoted into the slot through such linkage means. 

1. In conjunction with a car having a door pivotal upwardly and downwardly about an axis adjacent its bottom edge parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car, the improvement which comprises: a. a slot formed in the outer surface of the door, generally perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the door, said slot having openings at either end thereof; and b. means positionable in the slot through one of said openings and slidable in said slot towards the other of said openings to apply force therein to the outer surface of the door to pivot the door upwardly about the pivotal axis of the door, said means being positionable in said slot through said other opening and slidable in said slot towards said one opening to apply supporting force to the outer surface of the door during downward pivotal movement of the door, said means being removable from the slot from either opening but not removable from the slot between said openings.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means positionable in the slot comprise an arm the end of which is generally T-shaped, the slot being generally T-shaped in cross section, the outer surface of the door defining one of said openings adjacent the bottom end of the slot, the top end of the slot terminating at the top edge of the door in said other opening.
 3. In conjunction with a car having a door pivotal upwardly and downwardly about an axis adjacent its bottom edge parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car, the improvement which comprises: a. first and second slots formed in the outer surface of the door, generally perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the door, said slots having openings at either end thereof; b. form means comprising first and second arms the ends of which are positionable in the first and second slots respectively through the openings at either end of said slots and slidable in the slots to the openings at the other end of said slots, said arm ends being removable from the openings at either end of said slots but not removable from said slots between said openings; c. means associated with the form means for raising and lowering the fork means relative to the car, and moving the fork means toward and away from the car, to move said arm ends through said slots in one direction to pivot the door upwardly about the pivotal axis of the door or to move said arm ends through said slots in the other direction to pivot the door downwardly about the pivotal axis of the door.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the ends of the arms are generally T-shaped in configuration, the slots being generally T-shaped in cross section, the surface of the door defining first and second of said openings adjacent the bottom ends of the first and second slots respectively, the top ends of the first and second slots terminating at the top edges of the door in third and fourth of said openings respectively.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein are included rollers at the ends of the first and second arms.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein are included: a. lock means adapted to lock the door in position relative to the car when the door is pivoted upwardly to a certain position; b. block means i. positionable into the slot so that the T-shaped end may not be removed from the opening adjacent the bottom end of the slot, and ii. removable from the slot so that the T-shaped end may be removed from the opening adjacent the bottom end of the slot; and c. means for positioning the block means into the slot when the door is in other than said certain position, and removing the block means from the slot when the door is in saiD certain position.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein are included trip means positioned in the slot and adapted to be tripped by the end of the arm as said end is slid along in the slot to unlock the door when said door is locked in said certain position.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the lock means comprise a shaft extendable from the top edge of the door and into an aperture associated with the car, when the door is in said certain position, and retractable from that aperture.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the block means comprise a block pivotally fixed relative to the door to pivot into and from the slot, and wherein the means for positioning and removing the block means comprise linkage means interconnecting the block and the shaft such that when the shaft is extended into the aperture, the block is pivoted from the slot through such linkage means, and when the shaft is not extended into said aperture, the block is pivoted into the slot through such linkage means.
 10. A railway car comprising: a. a floor portion; b. a door pivotally fixed relative to the floor portion and pivotal in a first direction to a closed position and in a second direction to an open position; c. a slot formed in the outer surface of the door and having openings at either end thereof; d. means positionable in the slot through either opening and slidable in the slot to apply force in the slot to the outer surface of the door to pivot the door to its closed position, such means being removable from either opening but not removable from the slot; e. lock means adapted to lock the door in its closed position; f. block means i. positionable into the slot so that the means positionable in the slot may not be removed from one of the openings, and ii. removable from the slot so that the means positionable in the slot may be removed from that one opening; and g. means for positioning the block means into the slot when the door is in other than its closed position, and removing the block means from the slot when the door is in its closed position.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the door is pivotal about an axis adjacent its bottom edge parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car upwardly to a closed position, and downwardly to an open position, and the slot is generally perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the door.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein are included trip means positioned in the slot and adapted to be tripped by the means positionable in the slot as said means are slid in the slot to unlock the door when the door is locked in its closed position.
 13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the car includes a roof portion, and wherein the lock means comprise a shaft extendable from the top edge of the door and into an aperture associated with the roof portion of the car when the door is in said closed position, and retractable from that aperture.
 14. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the block means comprise a block pivotally fixed relative to the door to pivot into and from the slot, and wherein the means for positioning and removing the block means comprise linkage means interconnecting the block and the shaft such that when the shaft is extended into the aperture, the block is pivoted from the slot through such linkage means, and when the shaft is not extended into the apertures, the block is pivoted into the slot through such linkage means. 